FORCING-HOUSE FOR FLOWERS. 
15 
placed near the flues, pipes, or other sources 
of heat, they should stand in pans ; hut any- 
thing like stagnant water about the roots 
must be carefully guarded against. Sufficient 
warning has already been given against the 
green fly, to which Roses are very liable ; but 
a still greater pest is to be guarded against 
here. As soon as the buds of the Koses 
begin to elongate, a small grub, or worm,* 
known by the significant name of the " worm 
i' the bud," is hatched into being with them, 
and immediately attacks the bud, or point, 
and eats down to the blossom ; it very often 
happens that the presence of this enemy is 
not perceived until the damage done by it is 
irreparable. There appears to be no better 
remedy or check for this insidious enemy, 
than to carefully watch the plants, and pick 
out the grubs immediately they are per- 
ceived. They may be generally detected by 
the infested buds having a more stunted ap- 
pearance than the others ; or if the grub is 
rather old, by the leaves withering, and being 
held together in the form of a hood, caused 
by the grub attaching them together by a sort 
of web. Chinese and Hybrid Roses require, 
in general, a lower temperature than that 
recommended for this house ; but at this 
period they may be brought forward here 
with considerable benefit, under similar con- 
ditions to those recommended for the others. 
* This worm is the caterpillar of a small moth (Lo- 
zotaenia rosana), which abounds among rose bushes in 
the summer months, and after pairing, lays its eggs in 
a small round yellow patch, sometimes on the bark of 
the lower branches of the rose tree, but as frequently on 
some contiguous material, such as the palings of a 
fence. The caterpillar makes its appearanee with the 
first opening of the leaves, of whose structure, in the 
half-expanded state, it takes advantage to construct its 
summer tent. It is not, like some of the other leaf- 
rolling caterpillars, such as that of the lilac (Lozotoe- 
nia syringana), contented with a single leaf, but weaves 
together as manv as there are in the bud where it may 
chance to have been hatched, binding their discs so 
firmly with silk that all tie force of the expanding sap, 
and the increasing growth of the leaves, cannot break 
through, and a further expansion is of course prevented. 
The litile inhabitant, in the meanwhile, banquets se- 
curely on the partition of its tent, eating doorways 
from one apartment into another, through which it can 
escape in case of danger or disturbance. The leaflets of 
the rose, it may be remarked, expand in nearly the 
same manner as a fan, and the operations of this ingeni- 
ously destructive insect, retain them in tile form of a 
fan nearly shut; sometimes, however, it is not contented 
with one bundle of leaflets, but by means of its silken 
cords unites all which spring from the same bud into a 
rain-proof canopy, under whose protection it can feast 
on the rose-hud, and prevent the flower from ever 
blowing. The only methods of preventing the depre- 
dations of this insect are in winter, or early in spring, to 
search for the eggs and destroy them; but should these 
escape detection, as they frequently will, the evil will 
not become apparent till the buds arc already destroyed, 
when they must be taken oil". No wash nor fumigation 
Ban he of the slightest use. 
Lily of the Valley — if not potted up in suf- 
ficient quantity, may still be lifted, and either 
placed at once in pots or boxes, or if the 
plants are wanted for show in pots, more than 
for cutting the bloom, the largest and most 
plump buds should be chosen, and planted from, 
eight to twelve or more in a five or six-inch 
pot, according to the size used ; the buds 
being placed nearly an inch apart. After 
potting, they should be watered, and set in a 
cool frame, until they are required to be in- 
troduced into heat. The soil proper for them 
is sandy loam, not too rich. 
Achimenes. — Many of these will be putting 
forth fresh shoots, and should in part be potted, 
and placed in a favourable part of the house. 
A light rich soil suits most of them well. 
"Water must be sparingly administered at first. 
If some of the plants are retarded by keeping 
them in the pots they have been previously 
grown in, in a cool place, and withholding water 
for some time longer, their season of flower- 
ing may be considerably prolonged. 
Gloxinias, Gesneras, and plants of similar 
structure, require treatment of the same 
kind. 
Amaryllis. — Any bulbs of these splendid 
plants that may be throwing up their flower- 
stems, should be immediately potted in rich 
sandy loam, and brought forward very gradu- 
ally; keeping them near the glass in order to 
avoid drawing the stems up weakly, and at- 
tending very particularly not to apply too 
much water, until the pots are tolerably full of 
roots ; then they may be more liberally sup- 
plied. As soon as the first flowers begin to 
show colour, and are about to expand, remove 
them to the conservatory; the coolness of that 
structure will retain the bloom in perfection 
for a much longer period, and also increase the 
intensity of their colour. 
Hyacinths — When first introduced, should 
be placed in a dark corner, until the crown of 
protruding leaves has acquired some degree 
of greenness; for it is decidely injurious to ex- 
pose the blanched leaves of plants immediately 
to the full action of light. If the bulbs be 
well rooted, when exposed to a higher temper- 
ature, there is little fear but the bloom will be 
satisfactory. Any of the bulbs that are slow 
in emitting roots, should be placed aside for 
later forcing, or to bloom naturally in the 
green-house, without being stimulated by any 
degree of heat further than they may expe- 
rience there. 
Tulips. — The same remarks are equally 
applicable to tin; early tulips, such as the single 
and double Van Thol, Tournesol, and other 
early kinds ; the great point being to have 
tlie pots full of roots, without which there is 
more danger of rotting the bulbs entirely, than 
of blooming tlicm in a satisfactory manner. 
